Entertainment systems, such as video game systems or devices are well-known and are usually implemented by personal computers (PC) or game consoles which are controlled by at least one user. For controlling these systems the user is equipped with an input control device, such as a gamepad, joystick or mouse, which is linked to the PC or game console by cable. Modern game consoles provide wireless control in that the users are equipped with wireless control devices. The user activity is detected by a sensor device which usually comprises infrared sensing elements. These sensor devices have to be installed in the vicinity of the display device (TV set or monitor) and close to the user's position.
In US 2008/0039202 A1 such a game console with wireless sensor device is disclosed. The sensor device is linked via a cable to the game console which receives the sensor signals and processes these signals as input data for the running game. This means that the input signal and data processing is solely performed by said console, in particular by the processing unit of it. Thus the processing of the sensor signals depends on the layout and design of the processing unit which can have the effect that only a limited number of user control devices can be used. Therefore the system is not designed to be controlled by a large number of users or even by an audience. Moreover, the sensor device is exclusively designed to only work with said console. Thus there are still sensor devices cannot be used to operate with different systems. Finally, each user is equipped with a control device (wireless gamepad) which still has to be touched. But it would be desirable also to provide a contactless or touch-free control as well.
Beside these drawbacks there are further deficiencies to be mentioned here:
In present systems, the computing, such as rendering, is performed by the processor of the used personal computer or game console. Consequently any update of hardware or software has to be made locally and involves high costs. Since many producers of consoles even keep the hardware and software protected, the users are forced to wait for new releases and have to buy them from the producers. In cinema gaming systems the hardware and software is normally implemented by a computer or server which is installed at the cinema or theater. Consequently a high invest has to be made at each cinema and any updating has to be made on site. This makes it harder and costly to frequently update or upgrade the systems and thus to stay in line with the developing technology of rendering computer graphics and movies. Moreover the known systems are not prepared to provide touch-free control equipment.